United States: Attorney charged with misconduct in alleged bribery

The Lorain County Bar Association has filed a complaint against Avon Lake attorney Gerald Smith for a number of counts of attorney misconduct.

According to a news release, among one of the counts is an allegation that Smith charged and received an improper fee by telling one of his clients who had a criminal case that he needed additional funds to make a “donation” to former Lorain County Common Pleas Court Judge Edward Zaleski and former Amherst Police Chief Lonnie Dillon.

The investigation showed that Smith kept the money for his own fee and didn’t intend to give the money to Zaleski or Dillon, according to the release.